Evidence suggests that the era of open sea piracy has, once again, come to an end, write Abdi Guled and Jason Straziuso:

In 2010 pirates captured 47 ships. In 2011 pirates tried commandeering 176 ships but only managed to take control of 25, indicating that anti-piracy efforts were succeeding. So far this year only five ships have been lost to pirates.

This is partly the result of the efforts of the navies from Europe, America, China, India and Russia. No ship with armed guards on board has ever been hijacked by pirates and the use of them is spreading.

Former pirates who were living large in expensive villas have had to return to tiny apartments, in a desperate attempt to hide from their creditors.

Those who would finance pirate expeditions in Somalia are no longer interested in doing so; the rate of failure is too high.

The decline in piracy is evident in Somalia’s economy. A cup of tea which used to cost as much as 50 cents has now fallen to just five cents.

Read more about the ships currently being controlled by pirates and what people from pirate towns have to say about the trend over here.